The 30th Annual Meeting of the Southwest/Texas Popular and American CultureAssociations February 24â€“28, 2009Hyatt Regency AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque, New Mexico

The SW/TX PCA/ ACA invites papers on Comics, Graphic Novels, PopularCultureAny Aspect of Comics, and Graphic Novels in Popular Culture will beconsidered.

In addition to our regular comics and popular culture related panels, wewill have a roundtable discussion looking at the term Graphic Novel. Wewill address the question what exactly is a Graphic Novel??? Some scholarsdislike the term. After all, a book like Maus is not really a novel sinceit is non-fiction. Yet Maus is always referred to as a Graphic Novel.Other terms like Photo novels and Sequential Art Storytelling books areless than satisfactory names as well. Is there another term that wouldwork better than Graphic Novel or are we stuck with it as a â€œblanketâ€ termfor all comic/sequential art related stories in book form? The area chairseeks scholars who are willing to debate this point openly and honestly.If you are interested in participating in this interesting roundtable,please contact me.

Some topics could include

Sequential Art and StorytellingFanboy cultureComic-ConventionsParticular Artists or writers (Bendis, Steranko, Kirby, Everett, Niles,etc)The Rise of the Graphic NovelWhat is a Graphic Novel?History of Newspaper Comics!Gay Characters in comicsFilm and Superheroes!Adapting Graphic Novels for the Screen1Libraries and Graphic NovelsRacisms and the X-MenSpiderman as the EverymanCartoon Network: Good or Bad for ComicsComics and PhilosophyGraphic Novels as outlets for social justice (ie,, World War III)Comics as political satire (eg,., Tom Tomorrow, Addicted To War)

We look forward to seeing you this winter in sunny Albuquerque where weinvite you to explore Route 66, local pueblos, hiking trails, museums, theSandia and Isleta casinos, area ski resorts, and nearby Santa Fe.